Meeting Wang Mou Again

Taking the shortcut was indeed much faster, and before long the group left the city and arrived at the path leading to the mine.

Previously, Cheng Shi and Qin Xin had encountered Wang Mou, who was carrying Aromani, here, and were unexpectedly "blocked" and prevented from going deeper into the mine. But this time...

They were blocked again, because Wang Mou had once again appeared before them, at the end of the path, frowning as he bumped into the Shrieking Servant was scouting ahead.

Seeing this scene from afar, Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow with a playful smile.

Interesting. How come this Doctor Assassin's progress in exploring the mine always matches ours so perfectly? Every time we get here, we see him finish exploring the mine. Is it a coincidence or intentional?

Was he trying to prevent his teammates from entering the mine, or was there really no clue in the mine worth digging into?

No, that's not right. He must have some ulterior motive for the mine, otherwise he wouldn't have used the excuse of cross -Experiment to cover up his true purpose when the teams were divided.

So, what exactly is the Doctor doing?

Wang Mou had clearly noticed the arrival of the group. His senses were sharp; his gaze quickly swept past his teammates and landed on the two [Folly] Believer in the group. He sensed a familiar aura emanating from them, and his expression turned surprised and uncertain as he said:

"Scholar? No, this taste is more like Wise One, a [Folly] Believer?"

At this stage... could it be just the beginning?

[Truth] The Believer is indeed quite perceptive; he made a guess with just one glance.

"It's good to see you again, Doctor." Cheng Shi greeted him from a distance, his eyes darting around to look him over. Only after confirming from the Shrieking Servant's feedback that there was nothing unusual around him did he quickly walk forward and tease him in a strange tone, "Looks like you're making good progress here too. What clues have you found?"

What about Yadelik?

Why are you alone again? Where's the Investigator? Did you... assassinate him?

And, did you come here waiting for us?

"..."

Wang Mou was clearly not used to Cheng Shi's Yin-Yang. His expression froze for a moment, but he quickly shook his head and replied seriously:

"There were some gains, but they were all expected gains."

The Investigator and I thoroughly examined Yadelik in four areas: geographical knowledge, social relationships, professional skills, and personal Memory. We found most of the evidence to support his Memory, which showed that his past was almost identical to the past we know today. The only difference was his attitude towards Aromani and his account of Aromani's attitude towards him.

Considering that the "present moment" in "time" is not a specific and precise point in time, but rather a short period of time, we suspect that it is very likely an "anomaly of the present moment." Therefore, our Investigator used some methods on the miner and learned that the Change in his perception of Aromani that he mentioned had indeed only started recently.

Then we confirmed with other miners that no one who had ever interacted with him knew anything about his infatuation with Aromani. It's worth mentioning that we also found many of Aromani's regular customers here, and they told us about the shack girl's character. I should have met with you all to confirm this further, but now it seems..."

After scanning the crowd and not seeing Aromani, Wang Mou said with certainty:

"She is probably not one of the 'Cencha' ones, but the real 'Cencha' one is Yadelik, the miner who took the shack girl out the night before and after, which is probably what is called 'the present moment'."

As for your other questions...

Yadelik was taken away by the Investigator. He was a very 'thoughtful' person and gave me some private time. After confirming that Yadelik had a problem, we parted ways.

So I didn't assassinate him; he left on his own.

But now, his 'thoughtfulness' is over, because from the very beginning, our Investigator have been following me again. I don't know what he's up to, but I came here specifically to wait for you guys.

"..."

After listening to this analysis, Cheng Shi felt a slight headache, in addition to wanting to applaud. The other party was too serious, and his attitude was even more rigid than when Squinty Old Zhang was explaining things.

But what does it mean that the Investigator took Yadelik away?

What is this Investigator trying to do?

Cheng Shi frowned, feeling that something seemed to have gone wrong in the mine again. But he had a more pressing concern: Wang Mou's last words. Was this Believer in "Truth" really waiting for his group?

What does he want to do?

Just as Cheng Shi was wondering, Qin Xin, who was at the back of the group, raised his hand, patted Morabik on the shoulder, and asked with interest:

"Wise One, you seem to have something to say from the very beginning. Judging from your expression, you seem to have a problem with this Believer of 'Truth' in front of us?"

Speak your mind freely; after all, Truth becomes clearer through debate. We also want to know, between "Folly" and "Truth," which is truly correct?

Qin Xin's words sounded like he was stirring up trouble, so much so that Cheng Shi turned around in surprise, thinking he had been possessed by someone. The Blind Man chuckled, but she didn't seem surprised by Qin Xin's reaction.

Morabik did have something to say. Not only him, but even Allen Doyle, who was standing next to him, hesitated several times before speaking. If Morabik hadn't held him back, he probably would have spoken up when Wang Mou was speaking.

Morabik glanced at Wang Mou, then at Cheng Shi at the front, and only after receiving Cheng Shi's affirmative look did he speak solemnly:

"I have no opinion on the Truth, but His Foolish Deed will sooner or later lead His Believer and Himself away from the true Truth."

What I'm trying to say is that this follower of "Truth" knows where the Abyssal Crystal is, and he carries the scent of the Abyssal Crystal!

No mistake, and it just happened!

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Wang Mou. Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow and secretly pinched a Scalpel in his sleeve, while simultaneously instructing his Shrieking Servant to assume a defensive stance.

Interesting. This Believer of "Truth" really did come for the Abyssal Crystal!

That makes sense. After all, he is a top-tier [Truth] player, so it's expected that he knows more about [Abyssal Volcano] than other players. But what really bothers Cheng Shi is that since the other party knows that the Investigator deliberately gave him private time to find this thing, why did he dare to actually do it under Li Wufang's "following"?

Wasn't he afraid that the other party was also coveting the Abyssal Crystal?

The Investigator must have been following him, and most likely they have been following him all along, but only revealed their presence at this moment, letting the Doctor know his location.

Cheng Shi put himself in the shoes of someone else; if he knew a teammate was looking for something in the mine, he would also quietly slip away to see what that teammate was looking for.

In his observation, this sunny and cheerful Investigator seemed like the kind of person who would do something like this.

Therefore, Cheng Shi was even more puzzled. What was the purpose of this Believer of "Truth" behaving so strangely and repeatedly?